Last Day in Budapest, Hungary

Posted by Girl With Chalk

Enjoyed my last day in Budapest, I spent my day at the thermal baths, the Frida Kahlo exhibit, and walked around the Castle District.

I walked across the Liberty Bridge this morning on my way to the Gellért Thermal Baths (You can see the building on the left side of the bridge on the other end). The bridge is beautiful, it has two eagles at the top. The Liberty Bridge is the shortest bridge in Budapest’s center. Initially built as part of the Millennium World Exhibition at the end of the 19th century, the bridge features art nouveau design, mythological sculptures and the country’s coat of arms adorned on its side.
Part of the famous Hotel Gellért in Buda, the Gellért Thermal Baths and Swimming Pool is a bath complex in Budapest, Hungary.
The bath complex was built between 1912 and 1918 in the (Secession) Art Nouveau style. It was damaged during World War II, but then rebuilt. The “magical healing spring” was used by the Turkish during the 16th and 17th centuries.
The Gellért Baths include thermal baths, which are small pools containing water from Gellért hill’s mineral hot springs. The water contains calcium, magnesium, hydrocarbonate, alkalis, chloride, sulfate and fluoride. Medical indications of the water include degenerative joint illnesses, spine problems, chronic and sub-acute joint inflammations, vertebral disk problems, neuralgia, vasoconstriction, and circulatory disturbances; inhalation problems for the treatment of asthma and chronic bronchitis problems. The thermal baths are decorated beautifully with mosaic tiles.
After swimming in the baths, I enjoyed an iced coffee in the main hall, built in Art-Nouveau style.
Crossing the Liberty Bridge back, you can see Gellért Hill overlooking the Danube River. Gellért Hill was named after Saint Gerard who was thrown to death from the hill. The famous Hotel Gellért and the Gellért Baths can be found in Gellért Square at the foot of the hill. At the top of the hill is the Citadella (Citadel), from which a view is available down both directions of the Danube. (If you click on my blog post of Budapest from 2015, you can see pictures of the time I was up at the Citadel from my first trip to Budapest).
The entrance to the Hungarian National Gallery. The gate has a statue of a Turul bird, it presumably originated as the clan symbol used in the 9th and 10th centuries by the ruling House of Arpad.
The Frida Kahlo exhibit. Thanks to the Museo Dolores Olmedo in Mexico City, and several other Mexican art collections, more than thirty paintings and graphics of the artist was on display.
My ticket was 3200 Hufs, but don’t worry because that only comes out to about $12.00. What a deal!
The entrance to the exhibit.
Frida Kahlo, The Broken Column, 1944.
Frida Kahlo, Without Hope, 1945.
Frida Kahlo, The Abortion, 1932.
Frida Kahlo, Self Portrait with Small Monkey, 1945.
Frida Kahlo, The Deceased Dimas, 1937.
Frida Kahlo, Still Life with Parrot And Fruit, 1951.
Walking around the National Gallery grounds.
The Holy Trinity Statue can be found in the middle of Trinity Square. The column commemorates the people of Buda who died from two outbreaks of the Black Plague.
Waling around Fisherman’s Bastion at daytime.
Walking around Matthias Church at daytime.
Fisherman’s Bastion during the daytime, today this place is known for its beautiful views over the city.
Mailing off my watercolored postcard to the Chain Bridge to a friend in the United States.
Before leaving Budapest, I had to have a Trdelník or “chimney cake”, which is prepared with dough that is wrapped around a stick, before being baked on an open fire. The chimney cake is topped with a mixture of sugar and walnut, or cinnamon sugar and filled with ice cream.

Budapest, Hungary

Posted by Girl With Chalk

Arrived in Budapest on the train. The train station is so beautiful, it looks like a museum.

The building was constructed between 1881 and 1884 as one of the most modern railway stations of Europe. Inside the station are frescos by Karoly Lotz.
The Hungarian Forint is the currency of Hungary, by the way, all of these only totals to approx. $100.
The first thing I noticed when arriving at our Airbnb was a Frida Kahlo banner way up high on the other side of the river. I knew I had to go up there and check it out.
Our apartment in Budapest, which is located steps away from the famous Chain Bridge.
The Central Market Hall is Budapest’s largest and most expansive indoor market, built in the neo-Gothic style, offers a variety of food stalls, from fresh vegetables, fowl and meat to wine and liquor shops.
Traditional Hungarian dishes are primarily based on meats, seasonal vegetables, fruits, fresh bread, dairy products, and cheeses.
For lunch, I had my all-time favorite Hungarian Goulash. It is a stew of meat, seasoned with paprika and other spices. Originating from medieval Hungary, goulash is a popular meal predominantly eaten in Central Europe but also in other parts of Europe.
Walking across the Chain Bridge, a suspension bridge that spans the River Danube between Buda and Pest, the western and eastern sides of Budapest, the capital of Hungary. It was the first permanent bridge across the Danube in Hungary. It was opened in 1849.
View from the top of the lift or “Budapest Castle Hill Funicular”, which is a funicular railway. It links the Chain Bridge at river level to Buda Castle above. The line was opened on March 2, 1870, and has been in municipal ownership since 1920. Check out my video at the end of this blog post to see what it’s coming back down the hill.
The Hungarian National Gallery, located at the top of the hill. I made it up to find an exhibition of paintings and drawings by Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, on loan from Mexico City’s Museo Dolores Olmedo. I will return tomorrow to see this show before I leave Budapest.
Matthias Church, a Roman Catholic church located in front of the Fisherman’s Bastion at the heart of Buda’s Castle District.
View of the Hungarian Parliament building across the river from the top of the hill.
Fisherman’s Bastion is a terrace in neo-Gothic and neo-Romanesque style situated on the Buda bank of the Danube, on the Castle hill, around Matthias Church.
The Buda side castle wall was protected by the fishermen’s guild and this is the reason why it was called fishermen’s Bastion. The guild of fishermen was responsible for defending this stretch of the city walls in the Middle Ages. It is a viewing terrace, with many stairs and walking paths.
Crossing the Chain Bridge back to our Airbnb apartment. Two stone lion statues guard both bridgeheads. I love the lion statues, they are beautiful.

Check out the video I took, riding the lift down the hill.

 

 

Last Day in Munich, Germany

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I spent my last day in Munich inside the Alte Pinakothek Museum. I love renaissance art, and this place had many of my favorite works.

The Alte Pinakothek houses much of the city’s most famous artwork, this museum’s collection includes renowned international works from the 14th through the 18th centuries.
Got my ticket and a locker to store my stuff.
The day that I was here, the museum was featuring Woman In Blue, a painting by the Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer. It’s part of the collection of Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum and on loan to Munich for 3 months.
The Raphael’s are amazing. On the left is “The Holy Family with Saints Elizabeth and John”,1506. On the right is the “Madonna Tempi”, 1508.
Peter Paul Rubens “The apocalyptic woman”, between 1623 and 1624.
Lots of Peter Paul Rubens.
Johannes Vermeer “Woman in Blue”, 1663–1664.
El Greco “The Disrobing of Christ”, between 1580 and 1595.
Rembrandt “Self Portrait”, 1629.
One of my favorite painters, Parmigianino “Mary with Child”, 1503-1540. This work is so beautiful. I could stare at it all day long.
Raphael “Madonna della tenda”, 1514.
After the museum, I had lunch at Cafe Katzentempel. This kitty’s name is Baloo.
I didn’t catch this kitty’s name…
One more walk through the Marienplatz downtown before getting on my train.
I picked up these cute Oktoberfest souvenirs. I will cherish my time in Munich forever.

Neuschwanstein and Linderhof Castles

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Our second day in Germany was reserved for the “Royal Castles” tour of Neuschwanstein and Linderhof castles.

The sight-seeing tour that we took.
One of the stops on our castle tour was in the town of Oberammergau. We stopped here for an hour. I had never heard of this little German town tucked away in the hills of the Bavarian region about an hour south of Munich. It was a little mountainside town that had frescoes painted on the town’s homes and buildings.
Some houses had fairy tales painted on them and some had religious paintings. It was so amazing to spend an hour walking through these little streets.
Today I wore my “Where’s Waldo” outfit that my friend Kelly got me. She said I needed it because I travel so much. I took this picture and posted it on my social media with the caption “Where in the World is Waldo?”
The gardens of the Linderhof castle.
At the entrance of Linderhof castle, waiting for the tour to begin.
Hohenschwangau Castle or “Schloss Hohenschwangau” (Upper Swan County Palace) is a 19th-century palace in southern Germany. It was the childhood residence of King Ludwig II of Bavaria and was built by his father, King Maximilian II of Bavaria. It is located in the German village of Hohenschwangau.
Neuschwanstein Castle (New Swanstone Castle) is a 19th-century Romanesque Revival palace on a hill above the village of Hohenschwangau near Füssen in southwest Bavaria, Germany. The castle was intended as a home for the king until he died in 1886. It was open to the public shortly after his death.
The castle sits up high in the mountain and there is a bus that brings you up, but it drops you off here and it is still quite a hike to get to the entrance.
Inside the Throne Hall, pictures were not allowed but I was able to sneak this one of the details of the frescoes painted on the walls.
View from the castle of the town below of Füssen (where we had lunch earlier) and behind it; the core of Schwangau in front of the Forggensee reservoir.
A postcard of Oktoberfest that I watercolored for one of my friends in the United States.
Another postcard of Oktoberfest that I watercolored for one of my friends in the United States.
A postcard that I watercolored of Neuschwanstein Castle for my friend Kelly in the United States who got me my “Where’s Waldo?” outfit.

Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany

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Today we went to Oktoberfest in Munich! It was wonderful.

The Marienplatz (St. Mary, Our Lady’s Square) is a central square in the city center of Munich, Germany. It has been the city’s main square since 1158. This is a view of the city hall.
View of the Neues Rathaus and Frauenkirche looking west.
View of the Mariensäule, a Marian column located on the Marienplatz in Munich, Germany. Mary is revered here as Patrona Bavariae (Protector of Bavaria). The column is topped by a golden statue of the Virgin Mary standing on a crescent moon as the Queen of Heaven, created in 1590. The Mariensäule in Munich was the first column of this type built north of the Alps and inspired erecting other Marian columns in this part of Europe.
The entrance to Oktoberfest, the world’s largest beer festival, which begins in Munich, Germany, on September 22. A celebration of Bavarian folk traditions, the event is attended yearly by more than 6.2 million tourists from around the world.
There are about 80 rides on the Oktoberfest run by carny families, most of who have been working for the Oktoberfest since the beginning of the 20th century.
Celebrating Oktoberfest with gingerbread hearts. These whimsical hearts are known as “Lebkuchenherz” (German for “gingerbread heart”). A gingerbread heart is a customary accessory for women who wear traditional dirndl dresses to Oktoberfest.
This was our beer tent for Oktoberfest. The Schottenhamel Spatenbrau is one of the most important tents of the Wiesn, as everything starts inside this tent. On the opening day of the Wiesn, at 12 pm on the dot, the mayor of Munich, Dieter Reiter will tap the first keg and call out “O’zapft is!” confirming that the tapping was successful. It is only after this that all other tents may begin to serve beer. The Schottenhamel tent, which in 1867 was just a small beer booth with 50 seats, has become the largest Wiesn tent with 10,000 seats.
Our tickets to enter the tent reservation.
The appetizers at Oktoberfest, every table gets one. We had 2 tables.
Can’t go wrong with a beer and a pretzel. The pretzels are huge.
All beer served at the Oktoberfest tents must be from one of Munich’s six breweries—Paulaner, Spaten, Hacker-Pschorr, Augustiner, Hofbräu, and Löwenbräu. The beer must also follow the Reinheitsgebot. The dinner also comes with roasted chicken and potatoes.
View from the top of the Ferris wheel at Oktoberfest. Each of the tents holds around 10,000 people.
Inside the Paulanergarten tent.
Inside the Hacker-Festzelt tent.
Inside the Hofbrau Festzelt tent.

Last Day in Romania

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Spent my last day in Romania walking around the city of Bucharest.

The Capitoline Wolf suckling the twins Romulus and Remus, the famous twin founders of Rome being fed by the wolf that allegedly raised them. The statue was favored by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, who donated copies of the statues to various places around the world
One last walk through the streets of Bucharest to send off my postcards to the United States.
The Saint Spyridon the New Church (Romanian: Sfântul Spiridon Nou) is a Romanian Orthodox church in Bucharest, originally built with gothic influences in 1860.
The entrance to the church.
The altar of the church.
Sending off the watercolored postcards that I created in Romania for my friends back in the United States.

 

Transylvania, Romania

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The next day we took a private tour of Transylvania, we wanted to visit both Poenari Fortress and Castle Bran.

Deep in the heart of Transylvania, lies Poenari Fortress. A ruined castle in Romania, which was home to Vlad the Impaler, aka, “Dracula”.
The fortress lies high on top of the Carpathian mountains. It was constructed around the beginning of the 13th century by Wallachians. In the 15th century, realizing the potential for a castle perched high on a steep precipice of rock, Vlad III the Impaler repaired the structure, making it one of his main fortresses. Although the castle was used for many years after Vlad’s death in 1476, it eventually was abandoned again in the first half of the 16th century and was in ruins by the 17th century. A landslide caused by an earthquake brought down parts of the castle which crashed into the river far below. It was slightly repaired and the walls and its towers still stand today.
Access to the citadel is made by climbing the 1,480 concrete stairs. (My legs hurt for a whole week after this climb).
It is said that one day Vlad Țepeș was hunting along the banks of the river and had noticed the ruins of an old castle on top of a cliff on Mount Albina, a cliff surrounded by the Argiș river, and inhabited only by vultures and other birds of prey. He decided that it would be the perfect place for a defensive fortress, so he conceived the design to restore it to its former glory.
Entering the castle ruins, you can wander at will, scrambling over original stones that have held up well over the centuries. Here I am by the door that leads to the “dungeon”.
The views from the top of Poenari are amazing! I shot video footage with my GoPro, as soon as I am able, I will post the footage.
This is Transylvania in Romania. Full of life and everything was so green.
Our tour guide even stopped so that we could buy homemade jam from a Romanian local.
After leaving Poenari Fortress, we made our way to Bran Castle, a national monument and landmark in Romania. The fortress is situated on the border between Transylvania and Wallachia. Commonly known as “Dracula’s Castle” (although it is one among several locations linked to the Dracula legend, including Poenari Castle and Hunyadi Castle), it is often erroneously referred to as the home of the title character in Bram Stoker’s Dracula. There is, however, no evidence that Stoker knew anything about this castle, which has very little associations with Vlad the Impaler, voivode of Wallachia, the putative inspiration for Dracula.
Here I am in a room dedicated to the one and only, Vlad the Impaler.
The castle is so beautiful! It belonged to the Hungarian Kings but due to the failure of King Vladislas II (r. 1471–1516) to repay loans, the city of Brașov regained possession of the fortress in 1533.
Of course, I had to “sneak” in a glass of red wine, like a real vampiress.

Bucharest, Romania

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Today we flew out to Bucharest, Romania. We missed our plane so we had to board another flight and were only behind schedule by about 2 hours.

The currency used here is the Romanian Leu. What I noticed was that it was printed on really pretty paper.
Walking through the streets of Bucharest.
Our little quaint hotel, the “Old City Bucharest NF Hotel” right in the heart of a city full of life.
The Rembrandt Hotel on the right, with the Grand Cafe Van Gogh adjacent.
One of the menu designs of the Van Gogh Cafe, of course you know we had to eat here!
The inside of the restaurant is so beautiful.
Van Gogh Cafe.
I ordered a raspberry daiquiri.
This town has tons of Dracula souvenirs and memorabilia.
Here I am with my cousins, walking around checking out the rest of Old Town Bucharest.

Frankfurt, Germany

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Started my vacation this year in Frankfurt, Germany. I went with my cousins and our first stop was filled with great food and drinks.

Frankfurt’s “Old Town”, although it was partially destroyed during World War II, it’s been fully reconstructed in the years since, saving many of the original buildings.
Saint Bartholomeus’ Cathedral. This 13th-century church is the site of the coronation of German kings and Emperors of the Holy Roman Empire for centuries. The cathedral is the largest church in Frankfurt and lies on the banks on the River Main.
This is how they do their franks here!
And don’t forget their chicken and potatoes.
I even had a chance to visit one of the local galleries in town. This one had a modern art exhibit.

2018 Ventura Art & Street Painting Festival

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I had a great time at last weekend’s Art & Street Painting Festival in Ventura. This year I chalked a mermaid square.

The ground here is really rough, but it adds character to the chalk.
Another angle of my square.
Finished!
A Dole Pineapple Whip float from Coastal Cone is always in order at this event!
After a day of chalking, the beach is always my happy place, and it’s right across the street.

Check out my timelapse here:

To see everyone’s else’s chalk squares, click on my blogspot here.